Kisses of Fire and Promises of Politics
by devilisinthedetails
Summary: Shinko knows Roald doesn't have a tyrannical bone in his body.


Kisses of Fire and Promises of Politics

"Shinkokami." Queen Thayet, Shinko could see, had settled into the topic she had come to discuss as gracefully as she had into the sofa in Shinko's parlor. Smoothing a scroll Shinko had sent her across the willow table where Shinko had poured steaming cups of green tea for both of them, she went on, "I wanted to talk to you about the vows you've written for your wedding."

"I have Roald swearing to love, honor, and protect me, and I have myself swearing to love, honor, and obey him." Shinko managed to keep her tone calm even as her mind wondered what she had gotten wrong in writing in painstakingly precise Common that did not come as naturally to her as beautiful Yamani calligraphy the vows for the High Priest and the Archpriestess to read her and Roald during their nuptials. The stress of planning everything—what she and Roald would wear, what their wedding party would wear, what food would be served at the feast, who would be seated where and with whom at the banquet, and a thousand other questions that might seem small but could cause a diplomatic disaster, a political crisis, or a social scandal if blundered—was crippling. She knew that Roald hadn't been entirely jesting two evenings ago when they puzzled over seating charts, and he had leaned close to murmur in the shell of her ear, his breath tickling her skin, that he was tempted to just exchange vows with her behind a hedgerow like a peasant. Then she had tapped him reproachfully with her fan though the corners of her eyes had crinkled with humor, but now that another conundrum had arrived, she thought that a marriage behind a hedgerow was starting to sound very appealing. "Those are the traditional words, are they not, Your Majesty?"

"They're traditional words, but they aren't the only traditional or valid words." Thayet smiled and patted the top of Shinko's hand. "You don't have to swear to obey your husband. Mithros and the Goddess know I didn't swear to obey mine, and if he had vowed to protect me, I'd have disemboweled him for implying that I can't defend myself. You can just promise to love and honor Roald all the days of your life, because, believe me, that's enough to swear to anyone. Didn't Lady Cythera explain that to you, dear?"

"She did." Shinko nodded before saying softly, "In the Yamani Islands, it is traditional for a woman to vow to obey her husband when they marry, Your Majesty."

Since she could walk and talk, Shinko had been raised to be a dutiful wife, one who deferred to her husband, served him and his family with honor, and supported him with a quiet strength. She might have chafed under the thumb of a husband—such as her betrothed in the Yamani Islands who had made it clear he wouldn't hesitate to seize any excuse to cane her with bamboo—who was oppressive, but Roald was always so gentle and courteous with her and everyone else that she wanted to be the best wife she could possibly be to him. Roald didn't have a tyrannical bone in his body so to swear obedience to him was a simple matter of trust and love for Shinko.

"This is Tortall." Thayet squeezed Shinko's fingers between her own. "You are your husband's equal, not his inferior."

"That's what some people will fear, Your Majesty." Shinko hoped that words wouldn't fail her as she explained the reason she had written obedience into her marriage vows. "They'll fear a Yamani influence on the heir to the throne. They must be assured that he is in charge and that the Crown will remain Tortallan, not ruled by any foreign power."

"I can't deny that this would appease some of the more conservative elements of our country." Thayet sighed and sipped her tea. "I just don't want there to be anything in your wedding vows that you regret."

"I'm marrying Roald, Your Majesty." Shinko lifted her own teacup to her lips. "I'll regret nothing."

"You're a gem, Shinko." Thayet leaned forward to give Shinko a quick kiss on her cheek—the kind of peck popular among ladies in the Eastern Lands—and Shinko glowed with pleasure at the praise from her future mother-in-law. "I would say Roald doesn't know what he has in you, but I think he does, thank the Goddess. Have a good afternoon."

Shinko rose into a curtsy and repeated the well-wish. The queen had barely left her chambers when a knock sounded on the door, and her guards opened it to reveal Roald.

"My prince." She swept him a curtsy.

"Your Highness. Well met." He bowed and kissed her fingers in a way that made Shinko tingle with warmth from head to toe. "I wanted to speak with you about the marriage vows you sent me. It was an oversight on my part to forget to make it clear that you don't have to promise to obey me. I apologize. There has just been so much else on my mind regarding the wedding that I didn't even think about our vows, but that's no excuse."

"There's no need for you to apologize, Roald," Shinko assured him, widening her eyes so that he would know that she was being honest, not merely polite. "It doesn't bother me to swear to obey you."

"It should, Shinko." Roald massaged his temples. "You're to be my wife, not my servant. I want us to be equals—partners in every sense of the word—like my parents, and my mother would never have agreed to obey my father on their wedding day."

"I know." The edges of Shinko's mouth curved into the hints of a grin. "She just told me that herself."

"Of course she did." Roald stopped massaging his temples as one of the smiles that lit up his whole face and Shinko's world along with it cracked across his features. "Papa says he wishes Mama had sworn to obey him when they were married because it would've made his life much easier, but I think he was just joking. I hope he was joking because I laughed as if he were."

"I'm not promising to obey you to make your life easier or at least not in the way you might think." Shinko scooped up her fan from a nearby table and snapped it shut decisively. "I'm promising to obey you because politically it's the best strategy for us. The people who whisper about too much Yamani influence on the throne will be appeased by the public proof that you, as the man, remain in charge of our marriage, and that I defer to you in all affairs."

"It's politically astute, I won't argue that." Roald stroked a strand of hair away from her forehead with a tender thumb. "I don't want you to feel that you have to be anything less than my equal because of politics, though."

"I won't be anything less than your equal." Shinko eased into Roald's touch as he combed his fingers through her hair. "You see, you won't be swearing to obey me, but you'll be vowing to protect me while I won't be promising to do the same for you, which means I can still rap you with my fan when I need to, Roald."

Staring down at her as he tucked her under his chin, Roald seemed to consider this before answering in a serious tone that only Shinko would have realized was playful, "What will you do if I order you not to whack me with your fan, darling?"

"Hit you with something else that you hadn't been creative enough to command me not to use against you." Instead of looking down to hide the sparkling eyes that betrayed her own humor, Shinko gazed up at her fiance so he could see how she shone merely by matching wits with him and how happy his soft presence made her.

"I love you, Shinko." Roald trailed kisses of fire along her ink black hair. "Now and forever. That's my most important vow."


End file.
